How Could I Ever Forget You? // Sebastian Sallow / Professor Sallow x reader/mc

"I guess this is it"

A blushing pink sunset fell upon the castle, it was your final night at Hogwarts. Although only having been a student for 3 years, it truly did feel like home, and saying goodbye would not be easy an easy task. Especially saying goodbye to a certain Slytherin student, who was sat beside you on the grass, looking out upon the glorious hillsides that surrounded the school. His head resting upon yours in a subtle embrace.

"I think I'll miss this the most," he muttered quietly, with such warmth you could have melted away.

"Alright, don't get too soppy on me, Sallow," you teased back at him in an attempt to ease the tension. After all, playfulness was your love language, and you were undoubtedly finding the emotion of leaving him extremely hard to face.

"You know you can't survive without me," he said with a smirk. You gasped at the sheer audacity of his comment.

"We'll see about that," you replied, oozing with sarcasm. But you knew it was true, you couldn't. He was practically the reason you got up every morning, aside from the risk of detention, which he seemed to get you into anyway. The both of you spent a moment in comfortable silence, reminiscing on your time here at school. Truthfully, he couldn't survive without you either. His life had turned upside down the moment you stepped foot in the great hall. In Sebastian's mind, from that moment onwards, you were his. The two of you were inseparable, best friends, yet always edging the line of something more. That reality always felt so close, yet so out of reach.

"I, um, have something for you," he turned to you, once again radiating that same warmth he did just moments ago.

"Oh?" You gazed up to him, meeting his eyes. Oh how you'd miss those perfect brown eyes, and the freckles that resided around them.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small silver ring. The band looked like it was formed from tiny vines and leaves, as if crafted by fairies.

A sudden panic came over you. He's not proposing is he? I haven't even told him how I feel, that couldn't be possible, right? Why would that even be possible?!

"Sebastian... this is all happening so soon!" You playfully gushed, as a last attempt to save yourself from embarrassment.

"Don't be daft, I'm not proposing," he chuckled as he reached back into his pocket. As much as you felt relieved, you kind of wished he was.

"Not that you wouldn't love that," he winked. You shook your head and stared him down, holding back a smile. If only he knew.

From his pocket he pulled a delicate silver chain. You watched his hands as he so carefully looped it through the ring, creating a beautiful necklace that he let hang from his finger tips.

"I was looking through the undercroft, I suppose to... say goodbye, and I found this ring in one of the chests. I was hoping you could have it, as something to remember me by."

Sebastian leaned towards you holding the necklace at each end, and gently fastened it at the back of your neck. His scent loomed over you, the heat of his body met yours. You felt yourself take in every millisecond of his closeness, gripping at each moment before he slips away.

"How could I ever forget you?" You said softly through a smile. Your eyes were beginning to get heavy as tears blurred your vision. It took everything in you to hold them back, you couldn't let him see you like that, you were just not ready to be vulnerable.

Regret was becoming you. This was all you had left. Your time together was running shorter by the second. Memories of your adventures together flooded your mind, all the missed opportunities to tell him how you felt, all the times you held back. And now here you were, closer than ever, but far too late.